Saturday, March 08, 2014

DEFIANCE, OH – Calvin evened its season record at 1-1 with a 15-1 victory over the host Yellow Jackets of Defiance College Friday afternoon. Calvin used cohesive play and strong ball control to gain the win. Calvin recorded 12 assists on the afternoon and was 8-of-9 on clearing attempts, allowing the Knights to control the run of play. Calvin led 10-1 at halftime and then scored five unanswered goals in the second half. The Knights were paced by a pair of freshmen in Emily Cefaratti (Hinsdale, IL/Hinsdale Central HS) and Audrey Grabowski (East Grand Rapids/East Grand Rapids HS). Ceferatti tallied four goals and two assists for a total of six points, establishing a new Calvin single-game record for points in a game. Grabowski was close behind with three goals, two assists and five points.

Friday, March 07, 2014

The Calvin men’s basketball team traveled to St. Louis, Missouri and the campus of Washington University for its first round matchup of the NCAA Tournament against #23 Wittenberg University and came away with an impressive 66-51 victory. Calvin will face second-ranked Washington University Saturday night at 8 p.m. (EST) in regional final contest. The victory marked Calvin’s first win over Wittenberg since 1990. Friday’s matchup marked Calvin’s first meeting against Wittenberg since 1995. Senior Tyler Kruis led the Knights with 19 points including 13 in the first half as Calvin raced out to a 37-25 halftime led. Junior Jordan Brink added 10 points for the Maroon and Gold.

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Spending a summer in Honduras is not the typical way a college student fills his or her summer vacation. Instead of trips to the beach, movies with friends, or family vacations, Calvin College student Dan Stout was taking classes, translating for American visitors, and living with a Honduran family. As a Spanish major, Stout is required to spend a semester abroad in a Spanish speaking country in order to fulfill his major requirements. Also a member of the Calvin men’s basketball team, Stout wanted to avoid any conflict with the sport that spans both the fall and spring semesters. So, with the help of faculty at Calvin, Stout was able to work out a summer semester, one that fulfilled his major’s requirements while also avoiding any conflicts with basketball. A junior from Escondido, California, a town just 30 miles north of San Diego, Stout chose to be a Spanish major because of his familiarity with the language and the ease with which he picked it up.

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Two members of the Calvin women’s basketball team have received All-MIAA honors. Named to the All-MIAA first team from Calvin are junior Breanna Verkaik while junior teammate Kayla Engelhard has been named to the All-MIAA second team. This year, Breanna Verkaik finished third in the MIAA scoring race, averaging 16.3 points a game in league play. She closed the year with a nine-game double-figure scoring streak, averaging 19 points a game during that stretch. She also led the league in field goal percentage (.549) and was second in free throw percentage (.836) and three-point field goal percentage (.424) and was third in blocked shots per-game (1.19). She was named MIAA Player of the Week once during the year. Engelhard (Unionville/Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS) averaged 12.2 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per-game while connecting on 37 percent of her three-point field goal attempts in league play. Engelhard was ranked third in the MIAA in steals, tied for fourth in assists, sixth in three-point field goal percentage and 11th in scoring average. In the MIAA Tournament, she averaged 17.5 points a game.

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Calvin College senior Tyler Kruis has been named the MIAA’s Most Valuable Player in men’s basketball. A native of Grand Rapids and a graduate of Grandville Calvin Christian High School, Kruis is the first MIAA men’s basketball MVP from Calvin since Jeremy Veenstra received the honor in 2002. Kruis is joined on the All-MIAA first team by Kalamazoo senior Mark Ghafari, Hope senior Nate VanArendonk, Calvin junior Jordan Brink and Trine junior Tyler Good. The All-MIAA second team consists of Calvin junior Tyler Dykstra (Holland/Holland Christian HS), junior Blake Krum of Olivet, junior Adam Peters of Kalamazoo and sophomores Ben Gardner of Hope, Jordan Herron of Albion and Brandon Krause of Alma.

Monday, March 03, 2014

ROYAL OAK, Mich. – The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association has named Calvin attacker Chris Griffin and Albion midfielder Cameron Clements its Players of the Week in men’s lacrosse for games played through March 1. Griffin is the Offensive Player of the Week while Clements is the Defensive Player of the Week. Griffin, a freshman from Howell (Hartland HS), set a Calvin school record with seven points, including four goals, in a 15-1 victory over Defiance, Ohio. He is being honored as Player of the Week for the first time in his career. He is also the first player in Calvin men’s lacrosse history to receive MIAA Player of the Week honors. Calvin is back in action on Saturday when it travels to Elmhurst for a game slated to start at 2 p.m. (EST).

Monday, March 03, 2014

ROYAL OAK, Mich. – The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association has named Calvin’s Karissa Reed and Alma’s Stephanie Herman its Players of the Week in women’s lacrosse for games played through March 1. Reed, a junior from Greenville (Greenville HS), scored two goals, scooped up five ground balls and caused a turnover in the Knights’ 15-8 loss to Otterbein, Ohio. She is being honored as MIAA Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career. Calvin is back in action this Friday and Saturday, competing at weekend games in Ohio. Calvin will travel to Defiance College on Friday for a 3 p.m. game and will then journey to Capital University on Saturday for a 1 p.m. game.

Monday, March 03, 2014

ROYAL OAK, Mich. – The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association has named Calvin guard Jordan Brink and center Tyler Kruis its Players of the Week in men’s basketball for games played through March 1. Brink, a junior from Dyer, Ind. (Illiana Christian HS), averaged 21.0 points and 5.0 assists as he helped lead the Knights to the MIAA tournament championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament for the second straight year. He scored a game-high 21 points and added four assists in leading Calvin to a 78-53 victory over Hope in the tournament championship game. Brink, who is being honored as Player of the Week for the second time this season and third time in his career, shot 42 percent from 3-point range (5 of 12) and 85 percent (11 of 13) from the line for the tournament. Kruis, a senior from Grand Rapids (Grandville Calvin Christian HS), also had a strong MIAA tournament as he averaged 18.0 points and 7.0 rebounds a game. He scored 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the tournament championship win over Hope. He shot 67 percent from the field (14 of 21) and 83 percent from the line (5 of 6) for the tournament. Kruis is being honored as Player of the Week for the fourth time this season and fifth time in his career.

Monday, March 03, 2014

The Calvin men’s basketball team will face the second-ranked Bears of Washington University of St. Louis Saturday night at 8 p.m. (EST) in an NCAA III Second Round game. Both teams were victorious in first round action Friday night. Calvin defeated Wittenberg 66-51 while Washington University defeated Wilmington 100-69. Saturday’s game will mark the first meeting between the two teams in NCAA III Tournament play and the first meeting since November of 2007 when Calvin defeated the Bears 87-82 at the old Calvin Fieldhouse.

Monday, March 03, 2014

Two members of the Calvin women’s diving team competed on the one-meter board at the NCAA III Regional hosted by Denison University in Granville, Ohio, February 28 and March 1. Those two divers were junior Rebecca Mumby (Spring Lake/Spring Lake HS) and sophomore Sarah Roth (Brighton/Brighton HS). Friday’s competition for the women began with the three-meter board. Mumby placed 18th with an 11-dive total of 371.25 while Roth was 19th at 369.70. On Saturday, Roth took 18th with a score of 376.00 points while Mumby took 21st with a score of 364.25 points.